Covid-19 has given us the opportunity to reassess what we require from our homes, argues architect Julia Park

These are, without doubt, extraordinary times. We will need a period of reflection before making long-lasting changes to our way of life, but it is already clear that a re-evaluation of how we live, work and interact with those around us will be one of Covid-19’s lasting legacies.

Home has never felt more important; many of us have spent more time at home this year than at any time since starting school. During lockdown home became our ‘safe haven’ in a scarily literal way. Six months later, how are we and our homes coping with the diverse activities that now fill our days – including those which until 2020 have taken place elsewhere, and what does that imply for future design?

While our instinct is for life to revert to normal, we need to remember that ‘normal’ hasn’t been good enough for a very long time when it comes to housing. Certainly not for older and disabled people who were already spending up to 90% of their time at home before the coronavirus gave us all a taste of how that feels.

The premise that household members need spaces to be together and to be apart was one of the founding principles of the London Housing Design Guide. It led to a new internal space standard with reasonably generous room areas and more storage.

Those who resented the rules that demanded all double and twin bedrooms were to be at least 11.5 sqm, that every bedroom should accommodate a desk and that homes with three or more bedrooms need two social spaces, are less critical now.

These requirements weren’t conceived with a pandemic in mind, nor did they imply that every bedroom would be furnished in the same way; it was simply an attempt to ensure that all new homes were fit for purpose when fully occupied and that rooms could be used for work, rest and play.

The guide also required the glazing to each habitable room to be at least 20% of its floor area, and sunlight to enter at least one habitable room for part of the day. Dual aspect became more or less mandatory – for cross-ventilation, choice of outlook and to mitigate overheating. And every home was required to have a private open space; at least a balcony of five square metres.

These standards felt sensible at the time and feel even more so now. Most are still in place, but a number have been diluted over recent years. Some were formally banned under the housing standards review of 2015; others waived by planners in pursuit of numbers.

London’s standards won’t prevent another pandemic, but they remain a sensible, humane baseline that offers reliable sanctity, the flexibility to accommodate change and some resilience against the unexpected.

Homeworking

My practice vacated the office a week before lockdown. In April, I emailed my colleagues to see how they were finding homeworking. I sent 10 short questions and received about 75 replies. These revealed that they were working everywhere from the kitchen, sitting room or a bedroom, to under the stairs and (occasionally) in the garden.

Finding a comfortable chair was difficult, slow broadband frustrating and childcare a logistical nightmare – but they were generally coping well.

Everyone agreed there are pros and cons to working from home. Avoiding the long, tiring and expensive commute, more flexible working hours, better lunches and more family time were the most mentioned benefits. But they were missing the day-to-day interaction – social and professional. I assured them that it would be strange if they weren’t.

Across the country and around the globe, many are thinking about their work/life balance. My guess in April was that working from home for a couple of days a week would soon become the norm for many office workers. It’s still my guess now. I think and hope we’ll become more attuned to our mental and physical health, when and how we interact with others, and what really matters to us. While Zoom will never be as good as a chat, many meetings can be managed virtually, saving a huge amount of travel and fuel.

So what does this probable halfway house imply for the design of future homes? The Sunday Times recently revealed that 63% of homes built since 2003 have open-plan living/dining spaces, with many families now regretting their choice.

63% of homes built since 2003 have open-plan living/dining spaces, with many families now regretting their choice.

Architects offered some expedient tips: moving furniture to create distinct zones was the main one – useful to a point but a bit too subtle for kids and hopeless for simultaneous conversations. Sliding walls are more effective, but not cheap.

I’ve always explored a range of different layouts for the homes I design. Mindful that family life evolves, and that open-plan is great until it isn’t (soundproof doors are sometimes the only way to survive family life), I recommend starting with a workable, cellular layout before removing walls. It forces you to provide more windows and it’s much more futureproof; doing it the other way – converting an open-plan space into separate rooms – is invariably harder.

When my colleagues revealed what they now value most in a locked-down home, windows came second only to outdoor space. In addition to the obvious benefits of daylight and sunlight, windows connect us to the wider world and remind us we’re not alone. Further evidence, in case we need it, to take well-being – mental health in particular – much more seriously, and remember that rather than require anything new or complicated, it often means doing simple things better.

I’d start by banishing trussed rafters (every roof full of timber is a missed opportunity for a home office or study). I’d also insist on at least two habitable rooms and make private open space mandatory (no one’s going to force you to use it) and I’d increase storage capacity, bring back utility rooms, and improve soundproofing between walls as well as between dwellings.

And I’d urge all designers and developers to think harder about how it would feel to live in each home they design and build, and to incorporate the special touches that bring everyday pleasure and lift our spirits when, as now, the world falters.

Julia Park is an award-winning architect and head of housing research at Levitt Bernstein.